China's CSPC Pharmaceutical Group Ltd. said its medicine for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, was granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The therapy, DL-3-n-butylphthalide, was given the designation based on a preclinical study in which the company's Butylphthalide Soft Capsules, or NBP, showed beneficial effects. The China Food and Drug Administration approved NBP to treat stroke in 2005.
Orphan drug status will help expedite development of the drug, and entitles CSPC Pharmaceutical to seven years of exclusive market rights and tax credits.
CSPC Pharmaceutical started evaluating the drug as a treatment for ALS in 2015.
ALS, also called motor neuron disease and Lou Gehrig's disease, is a nervous system disease that progressively destroys nerve cells, causing disability.
